I'll be offline for the next few weeks, as I'll be doing a study trip to Vietnam. The folk poetry of the country is called Ca Dao. Here's a sample-

The Saigon River

The Saigon River slides past the Old Market,
its broad waters thick with silt. There
the rice shoots gather a fragrance,
the fragrance of my country home,
recalling my mother home, stirring deep love.

Translated by John Babayan

More are here:

[www.ubu.com] />
pam

Pam:

Enjoy the visit. I imagine you'll have a better time there than we had 36 years ago.

JoeT

Have you been studying the language, Pam?

When we read foreign folk poetry in English, our appreciation of it depends so much on the poetic skill of the translator. If the original is a 'black box', an interesting exercise is to collect a number of translated versions of the same poem.

Have a good trip.

Ian



Post Edited (12-07-04 17:22)

Pam,

Have a great time and enjoy the trip.

john

Pam-

Thirty six years ago yesterday we buried my brother.
Take a walk in Ta Nihn and remember all the good boys who never had the chance to be good men.


Jack

Can you bring me back some Thai sticks? Much obliged, check's in the mail.

Hugh, if she does, you can be really original in June and give your dad a Thai for Father's Day.

That reminds me of the special blessing offered for Siamese knot makers:

Blest be the Thais that bind.

JoeT

Sorry, all they had was Pooh sticks. [www.poohsticks.com] />
pam

Dang! Appreciate the try though.

"you know, man, the thing that's tied to a stick"
Cheech Marin